Membership of a garden society can be a good source of good value seeds.
Not all seed companies are the same and many have distinctive specialties.
The big well known brands generally have a full range of annuals, perennials and odd selections. Most now offer higher value items including plugs and kinder or pot plants.

Many brands are now owned by the same company and the niche suppliers often offer more seed or better products in a narrower focused  range.

Choice Seed Companies

• Thompson & Morgan wildflowers and  thousands of varieties of seeds with useful germination  guide available online.

• Boston Seeds – Online seed shop offers grass seed mixtures for lawns, paddocks, sport, plus agricultural seed and wildflower seed. Volume orders
• The Chilli Company – Sells a variety of hot chilli seeds including ‘Brain strain’ and collections to take advantage of a current trend for growing Hot Chillies
• Chiltern seed  new web site but the old catalogue has flowery descriptions and an excellent range – no photos but great mail order catalogues
• D. T. Brown and Co. Ltd. – Offers a range of flower and vegetable seeds, including organics. Order catalogue online.
• Dobies – Flower and vegetable seeds (including organic), annuals, perennials, shrubs and bulbs for sale online from one of the top supply companies. Request the Dobies mail-order catalogue, and on-line shopping.
• Exhibition Seeds – On-line catalogue of grass seeds, herb, vegetable, and tree from North Yorkshire- hard copy catalogue.
• Jekka’s Herb Farm – On-line catalogue, or mail-order catalogue of organic herbs Soil Association certified.
• Johnsons seeds  Retail seeds not to be confused with SS Johnson bulk suppliers. Good for children
• Kings Seeds – Vegetable (including organic), herb, and flower seeds. Good selection of Sweet Peas.
• Marshalls – One of the top seed supplier offering vegetable plants, onion and garlic sets, seeds potatoes, and fruit trees.
• Pictorial Meadows – Specialists in mixtures of native hardy annuals, and perennials, for garden and landscaping.
• Secret Seeds – Stock fresh seed for over 800 rare and unusual cottage and exotic plants
• Simpsons Seeds – Good catalogue for information Specialists in tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers, melons and other greenhouse crops.
• Suttons Seeds – Old established firm with flower and vegetableseeds and seedlings,
• Tuckers Seeds – Offering seeds for flowers, lawn grasses, fruit and vegetables including varieties of onions, shallots, potatoes, with items for mushroom culture.
• Unwins Seeds Ltd – Broad range of flower and vegetable seed. Retail and mail order
• VidaVerde Seed Collection – On-line catalogue of seeds for interesting, rare, and unusual vegetables and grains from all over the world. Information about the growers, and printable order form.
• W. Robinson and Sons Ltd. – Mail order vegetable seeds, – special mammoth varieties see Leek blog.
• Wallis seeds new web site, great prices and range in a full catalogue without photos but useful for reference.
• Wilco and other retail brands are repackaged and own labeled.
• Vitalita & Dom Sementi – Cheap seeds may be available when you are on holiday as foreign suppliers seem to offer a lot more seed for your money.

The best seed deal I get every year is the 20 free packets from my RHS membership – I pay postage but the seed is collected from RHS gardens and includes some different species that create grand plants. The Alpine garden society also has a seed exchange scheme as do many specialist societies.

Many public gardens now package up their seeds. I have recently bought from the Eden Project and the Chelsea Physic gardens for example.

Further Comments on Seed Companies

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• Dobies – Flower and vegetable seeds (including organic), annuals, perennials, shrubs and bulbs for sale online from one of the top supply companies. Request the Dobies mail-order catalogue, and on-line shopping.
• Jekka’s Herb Farm – On-line catalogue, or mail-order catalogue of organic herbs Soil Association certified.
• Johnsons Retail seeds not to be confused with SS Johnson bulk suppliers
• Kings Seeds – Vegetable (including organic), herb, and flower seeds. Good selection of Sweet Peas.
• Marshalls – One of the top seed supplier offering vegetable plants, onion and garlic sets, seeds potatoes, and fruit trees.
• Pictorial Meadows – Specialists in mixtures of native hardy annuals, and perennials, for garden and landscaping.
• Simpsons Seeds – Good catalogue for information Specialists in tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers, melons and other greenhouse crops.
• Suttons Seeds – Old established firm with flower and vegetableseeds and seedlings,
• Tuckers Seeds – Offering seeds for flowers, lawn grasses, fruit and vegetables including varieties of onions, shallots, potatoes, with items for mushroom culture.
• Unwins Seeds Ltd – Broad range of flower and vegetable seed. Retail and mail order
• W. Robinson and Sons Ltd. – Mail order vegetable seeds, – special mammoth varieties see Leek blog.
• Wallis seeds new web site, great prices and range in a full catalogue without photos but useful for reference.
• Boston Seeds – Online seed shop offers grass seed mixtures for lawns, paddocks, sport, plus agricultural seed and wildflower seed. Volume orders
• The Chilli Company – Sells a variety of hot chilli seeds including ‘Brain strain’ and collections to take advantage of a current trend for growing Hot Chillies
• Chiltern seed new web site old catalogue has flowery descriptions and an excellent range – no photos but great mail order catalogues
• King seeds are my favourite for vegetables.